The Four Levels of Integrity; Level One Integrity: The Carrot and The Stick, by Doug Grady

Integrity: The act of doing what you said you would do when you said you would do it.

It is a yes or no scenario- you either did or you didn’t. Missing a deadline, skipping a scheduled workout, or eating something I said I wouldn’t are all examples of integrity lacking. When it comes to developing a new habit, eliminating a bad habit, or developing a daily discipline, keeping your word isn’t always easy. In striving to live a life of integrity, I have noticed the way in which I do so is not always the same. In evaluating patterns in my life and others, I have distinguished four distinct ways in which integrity occurs. I call these the four levels of integrity.

Level One Integrity- The Carrot and The Stick

“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you.” –Tony Robbins

Level one integrity is externally motivated and primarily driven by the desire to avoid (external) pain and to gain (external) pleasure. Consciously setting up a structure which rewards desired behavior and discourages unwanted behavior is a critical success skill. Here are a couple of examples:

In my second year in as an agent in the insurance business I set 2 records within a 3 month period. One of the disciplines I engaged in was a minimum of 25 prospecting calls each business day for 11 weeks. My carrot: the coveted President’s ring. My stick: I had to work Sundays if I did not reach my weekly sales goals.

In 2010 I accepted Scott Goodknight‘s 30 day challenge. I took on exercising at least 30 minutes per day for 30 consecutive days. Scott recommended a daily pain if I did not honor my commitment and a 30 day reward if I completed the 30 consecutive days. Since at the time money was tight I made the daily pain monetary. My 30 day reward was a nice dinner with an important person in my life. Scott also became my accountability partner; I reported in daily when I completed my exercise. I found this to be a very important structure in encouraging my desired behavior.

Pushing to qualify for a company trip, President’s club or other incentive

Buying a new dress if you reach your intended weight

The power of the carrot and the stick is available to us at any time. You can create incentives for yourself for sticking to your daily commitments and reaching milestones. You can impose sanctions for not honoring your word or not reaching a goal.

The major drawbacks of relying too heavily on level one integrity fall generally into two categories:

Getting hit with the stick may at times feel better than honoring your commitment.

You may decide your carrot is not worth the effort and break your commitment.

Choose your carrot and stick wisely, as well as the structure in which it is enforced. Be careful not to put too much stock in the carrot or the stick. It is your personal integrity, not external forces, which must reign supreme, which brings us to: Level Two integrity.

3 Comments

Necia Kelleher
on March 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm

Doug,

Thank you so much for The Carrot and The Stick! Great informantion. My 30 day committment is: to get up on or before 6.a. m. everyday. If I fail to do this, I have to give up coffee for two days, and I am not about to do this! That would be a nightmare! I believe this will work!!!!! Thanks again for the encouragement. I am going to apply this system to some other goals and will keep you posted. Hope I see you tomorrow at the BBA! Oh, the way, the reason I did not fill in the website requirement is because I am presently working on my personal website.